U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event on healthcare affordability at the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, May 18, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stock markets are expected to open in mixed territory on Tuesday as traders assess the geopolitical landscape and developments in the Middle East.
United Kingdom FTSE100 the index should open up 0.13%, with that of Germany DAX and that of France CAC40 dish and that of Italy MIB FTSE 0.14% less, according to IG data.
European stock exchanges will follow their Asia-Pacific counterparts in mixed territory on Tuesday, with oil prices in focus after US President Donald Trump said he was postponing a planned attack on Iran.
Trump said in a Truth on social media On Monday, he told American military leaders cancel a “planned attack against Iran tomorrow” at the request of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“A deal will be reached that will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as to all countries in the Middle East and beyond. This deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” Trump added.
The president warned that he had informed his military leaders “to be prepared to launch a full-scale, full-scale attack against Iran, at short notice, in the event an acceptable agreement is not reached.”
Oil prices fell overnight following declaration with international community Brent crude futures for July deliveries down 2.04% to $109.81 a barrel at 5 a.m. London time and West Texas Intermediate Futures for June, down 1.12% to $107.44 per barrel.
In other geopolitical news, Russia President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day summit with the Chinese. President Xi Jinpingjust days after Trump’s visit to China.
The summit, scheduled for May 19-20, marks the second time Chinese and Russian leaders have met in the past year, as Beijing seeks to manage its relations with Washington and Moscow.
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Official data released on Tuesday showed the UK unemployment rate rose to 5% in the three months to March, up from 4.9% in February.
Economists polled by Reuters expected the unemployment rate to hold steady.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said the war in Iran was expected to weigh heavily on UK growth in coming quarters, further limiting hiring demand. He added that an unstable domestic political context “adds uncertainty that businesses could do without.”
“For the Bank of England, the [March unemployment] “The numbers won’t help resolve a divided monetary policy committee,” he said. “A June rate hike remains on the table amid inflationary pressures from high global energy prices, but with monetary policy settings already restrictive, the committee must balance this with the significant risks of further deterioration in the labor market.”
The meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers also ends Tuesday in Paris. The meeting was dominated by the war in Iran and how to ease the global economic shock caused by the conflict.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, chairing this week’s G7 meeting, told CNBC on Monday that it was important to understand the impact of the crisis on growth, inflation and budget deficits before making decisions.
On the business side, the German government has announced its intention to reprivatize the energy group Uniperwhich was refloated during the year 2022 European energy crisis with a cost to the taxpayer of 13.5 billion euros ($15.71 billion).
The government, which owns 99.12% of Uniper’s capital, announced on Tuesday its intention to sell or list the group on the stock market in what could be one of the biggest European deals this year.
“We are now more stable, more resilient and more clearly strategically positioned. We have consistently oriented our business towards reliable profits and have a strong balance sheet,” Uniper CEO Michael Lewis said on Tuesday.
The winnings come from Euronext and the published data includes the latest EU trade balance figures.